Top 10 Recent Reforms With Respect To Floor Area Ratio

While real estate developers in India would love to create taller and even taller buildings, this may not always be possible due to safety issues. A developer can construct only as much as the floor area ratio (FAR) norms defined for the geography allow. (FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size of the land it is built upon.) While it varies from one city to another and one zone of the area to another, you would hardly get to hear about FAR above 4 in India.

In Noida, for example, the FAR is 2.75 but in case of high-rises in Chennai, it is 2. On the contrary, FAR is as high as 18 in New York City.

However, in the recent times, authorities have been rolling out incentives to facilitate more quality constructions that would be safe to inhabit.

Here are the top 10 reforms with respect to FAR in India in the recent times:

India has over 400 crore sq ft of green footprint which makes it the second largest in the world by measure. The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) is aiming to create 1,000 crore sqft by 2022. Authorities have also consented to the fact that the 100 Smart Cities should be green cities, too, the first of it being the GIFT City in Gujarat. What's more, many states give a FAR bonus for green buildings. For example, Uttar Pradesh allows an additional five per cent FAR for gold, platinum-rated buildings and so does Punjab. In Pune, platinum buildings receive 15 per cent concession in property tax. Therefore, real estate developers who vow to go green get to construct more.

In Karnataka, even under the Akrama-Sakrama scheme, FAR violations are being strictly monitored. Only those constructions where FAR violations are less than 50 per cent in case of residential buildings and less than 25 per cent in case of commercial ones, a building can be regularised. If the violation exceeds this limit, the building would be razed. 

In its second phase of reforms in AMRUT (the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) cities, authorities have held that value capturing would be considered to trigger resource mobilisation. Authorities believe wherever private land benefits from public investments, like in the case of increase in FAR, a share of the profit should be routed back to the government accounts via a fee.

In Kolkata, you would be rewarded if you play safe. Yes, the civic authorities in Kolkata have granted 100 per cent FAR increase for unsafe, dilapidated buildings if the owners allow for a demolition of such buildings. Therefore, if the unsafe building had three floors, builders would be allowed to construct six floors after the demolition. To grant maximum relief, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has agreed that it will also sanction building plans at the earliest and would also take repair requests from tenants living in such buildings.

To curtail haphazard growth, the Urban Development Ministry came up with a proposal of introducing Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in Indian cities. Under the scheme, one of the important aspects is to allow more vertical construction near transit corridors by increasing FAR limits. It would also consider non-motorised transport infrastructure for walking/cycling to transport destinations, effective first and last mile connectivity as also feeder transport services to guarantee maximum efficiency.

Among amendments to Rajasthan's Jan Awas Yojana 2015 include provisions for a higher FAR for LIG (low-income group) and EWS (economically weaker sections) housing. Now, for residential schemes on a builder's own land, 7.5 per cent FAR in apartments is to be reserved for the EWS and LIG category along with 10 per cent of the saleable area of the plot.

Haryana introduced a significant reform last year. The state amended its building code to make a mandatory decentralised solid waste management plant in group housing complexes, hostels and even hotels. Those buildings that make way for this development would be allotted a higher FAR.

In Haryana, the additional FAR for residential plots has been approved by the chief minister. While the FAR for four marla plots has been raised from 1.65 to 1.98, the FAR for a two kanal plot has been increased from 1.00 to 1.80. The additional FAR will be purchasable at per square metre rates and the new building code will supercede the construction of buildings regulations, 1979. In case of building plans and occupation certificates that were received before July 1, 2016, the allottee will be free to choose between both the regulations, as per reports.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Centre's aim to fulfil Housing For All by 2022 would only be realised if real estate developers would come forward for the cause. FAR relaxations would be offered to a developer, who venture into it through an open-bidding process. This is a provision for in-situ rehabilitation.

To preserve heritage buildings, authorities in Goa are allowing extra FAR in special zones as part of a concept of transfer of development rights (TDR) .

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All You Need To Know About Floor Area Ratio